Finding insurance for a property of non-standard construction

You scour the property for sale pages and find your dream home. It has plenty of character and is just within your budget. The surveys check out and your committed to buying. It’s at this point you discover when you start to get home insurance quotes, that all may not be as you thought it would be.

Home insurers will ask the questions about the construction method and materials used in order to fully understand how the property is built and then calculate the risk and costs of potential claims.

This is where many UK property owners find out their property is of non-standard construction.

What does this mean and why does it impact property owners? Non-standard buildings can be varying in type and appearance. Although bricks and tiles are the standard materials to use when constructing a house in the UK, a large proportion of properties are built using materials that fall outside of this norm.

These properties are often just as sturdy and stable as traditional builds but unfortunately, non-standard construction mortgages can be harder to obtain and many standard insurers can be reluctant to provide cover for anything that is a little bit different.

Property types can include steel frames, older timber frame or even more modern SIP (structurally insulated panels) construction. It is vital that when organising your home insurance, you correctly list your property type, building material and age (as well as other information). Incorrectly representing you home may provide a short-term reduction in premium but at a point of claim could be very costly as the insurer has the right to void your claim for non-disclosure. Using a specialist non-standard home insurance company like CoverBuilder will help you to ensure your property is correctly covered.

Non Standard Mortgage issues

In the same way that insurance for a non-standard property requires a specialist insurer, like us! often mortgages will need to be sourced from an accommodating lender. For many of the same reasons, there is generally a reluctance to offer funds to mortgage a property of non standard build often because the investment cannot be easily accounted for. For example, if you were to have your home repossessed due to non-payment it could be more difficult for the lender/debt manager to shift the property off their liability to recoup the money. There is also the maintenance and on-going specialist upkeep of non-standard properties. Often more complex and needing continuous care and attention, non-standard properties, for example, a thatched roof, generally require more expensive and regular maintenance from a trained service provider. Therefore poor upkeep can cause issues with the property valuation further down the line.

CoverBuilder is a non-standard home insurance provider in the UK.